Improvement in machines for uniting the soles and uppers of boots and shoes



G. McKAY.

Improvement in Machine for Uniting the Soles and Uppers of Boots and Shoes.

No. 132,847. Patented Nov.5,1872.

AM. Puami/r/msmm/c Cam mssonnz's macsssa GORDON MOKAY, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPRGVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR UNITING THE SOLES AND UPPERS 0F BOOTS AND SHQES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 132,847, dated November 5, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GORDON llIOKAY, of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Machines for Uniting the Soles and Uppers of Boots and Shoes and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawing which accompanies and forms part of this specification, is a description of my invention sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

My invention relates to that class of machines for uniting the soles and uppers of boots and shoes by nailing, in which continuous wire is used to form the nails, the successive nails being cut in succession from the end of the wire. In my invention the end of the wire is driven before it is severed, the mechanism that feeds the wire to position to be out being also the mechanism that drives the nail; but in such an arrangement I employ separate'cutting and driving mechanisms, instead of feeding and driving the wire by the cutting mechanism. My invention consists, primarily, in combining feed-rolls that feed and drive the wire before the nail is severed with cutters which follow the action of the driving mechanism aud sever the driven nail. Between the feed or driving mechanism and the cutters I place a nail-wire supporting-tube that receives the wire directly-from the feed-rolls, and extends down to the sole or to the path of movement of the cutters, so that the wire is supported by the walls of the tube from; the driving mechanism to the point where it enters the sole. This constitutes another feature of my invention. After the wire is driven, and before the driven nail is severed, I swing the nail-tube laterally to feed the shoe to position to receive the next nail, the wire being indirectly the feeding agent, and this constitutes another feature of the invention, as does also the process consisting in first driving the wire, next feeding the shoe, and next severing the wire, and returning the driving mechanism to its normal position for driving the nail. To effect the shoe-feed, I use a movable cutterblade, the cutting-edge of which is brought against the wire, then pressesthe wire and feeds it and the shoe laterally, (bringing the wire against a stationary cutter,) and then by its further movement severing the wire. This constitutes another feature of the invention, while still another feature consists in a provision for upward yield of the nail-tube and feed mechanism when the wire is being cut.

The drawing represents a mechanism embodying the invention.

A shows a front view of the mechanism; B is a side view of it; 0 is a sectional plan on the line a: 00.

a denotes the head of a nailing-machine. b is a support for the shoe, which support may be a last mounted upon a suitable jack or a horn, it being only necessary (so far as my present invention is concerned) that the support shall be'capable of vertical yielding movement in accordance with variation in thickness of the parts to be united. -0 denotes the nailforming wire. Said wire, from a suitable source of supply and by or through suitable guiding devices, passes to andbetween a pair of feed and driver rolls, d e, which rolls are geared together and driven by any suitable means. The wire, in passing between the rolls, is griped tightlyby them, forwhich purpose each or either rollbut preferably each rollis formed with aperipheral groove, f, which groove is notched, toothed, or serrated, to form a griping-surface. The nails are preferably notched or serrated upon their opposite surfaces, and for effecting this formation of the nails plain wire may be delivered to the rolls and the feeding-surfaces of the rolls be made of such form and hardness as to make the serrations in the act of griping and feeding the wire this method of serrating the nail by means of the feed and driver rolls constituting one feature of the invention. Beneath the rolls, and extending up between them so as to take the wire directly at the point at which the rolls deliver it or cease to act directly upon its surfaces, is a nail-wire tube, 9, which tube extends down to or nearly to the stationary foot against which the top of the sole is supported, or to the line or path of movement of the cutting-edge h of a movable cutter, i, which, in conjunction with a stationary cutter, k, severs the wire to form the nail. The movable cutteri has a swinging or lateral movement, for which purpose it may be attached to a bar or shank, l, pivoted at a suitable point, the nail-tube and feed-wheel mechanism being also hung so as to coincidently swing. The cutter-bar is shown as pivoted at m, and the nail-tube bar at a, the pivot n extending from a slide, 0, that slides vertically in a guide-plate, 19.

The movable cutter t, in normal position, stands away from the stationary cutter k a distance equal to the space between adjacent nails in the sole, and in this position the point of the nail-wire stands against or in proximity to its edge. This being the position, the boot or shoe sole is pressed up against the cutters, and, being held there with suitable force, the feed wheels are rotated and the wire pressed down by them with pressure sufficient to drive the end of the wire into and through the soles or parts to be united. During this operation the other parts are held stationary; but when the wire is driven so that its point meets the metal face of the last or horn, the rotation of the wheels ceases, and the end of the wire being in the sole, the cutter or the nail-tube is moved, and by its movement feeds the shoe, bringing the shoe into position to again receive the wire, and also bringing the wire up to and against the edge of the stationary cutter'k, and the edge of the cutter i is then driven through the wire to sever the nail. After the nail is severed the nail-tube is thrown back to its normal position, taking with it the nail-driving mechanism and the movable cutter. When the cutters act they sever the wire so as to form a fiat headto the nail below them and a point to the nail or wire. above, and to enable the wire above the out to yield upwardly the nail-tube bar is pivoted to the slide 0, which slide 0 has provision for yielding movement by reason of a spring, q, that presses down the tube and its wire, but permits them to rise against the stress of the spring.

In operating the machine the parts normally stand in position as seen at A, the point of the wire being at the surface of the sole. The feed-wheels then turn and force the wire down, and being supported upon all sides by the tube 9, the end of the wire is driven into and through the soles to the metal support against which the inner sole rests. The cutter and nail-tube are then thrown over, and the entered end of the wire causes the shoe to move with it and them, thereby bringing the sole and the other parts to the position seen at D, the wire against the stationary cutter. The cutter being then driven forward, the nail is severed, and the parts return to normal position, as seen at A.

p I claim- 1. The combination of afeed mechanism that feeds and drives the' wire without rotating it, and cutters thatsever the driven nails, the feed and driving mechanism and the cutting mechanism being separate and independent instrumentalities.

2. In combination with feed-rolls for driving the wire, substantially as described, and cut ters for severing the driven nails, a nail-wire tube for receiving and supporting the wire from the feed-wheels to the cutters, substan tially as shown and described.

3. In combination with cutters for severing the driven nail, a swinging nail-tube having a forward lateral movement with the driven nail and the shoe for the feed of the shoe, and prior to the severing action of the cutters.

4. In combination with a stationary cutter, a movable cutter, which in its forward movement first moves the driven wire and the shoe until the wire strikes the stationary cutter and then severs the wire.

5. In combination with the feed-mechanism and the cutting mechanism, a nail-tube that yields upwardly when the wire is being cut.

6. In nailing boots and shoes withnails cut from continuous wire, the process consisting in first driving the wire, next feeding the shoe, next severing thewire at the surface of the sole, and next returning the parts to their normal position for insertion of another nail.

. GORDON MoKAY. Witnesses:

FRANCIS GOULD,

M. W. FROTHINGHAM. 

